Tuesday, Nov 29, 2016

The rains have returned to Cuenca. While I was on a coaching call I could hear torrents of rain hitting the roof and when I looked out the window sheets of water were pouring over the window pane. I am so glad I wasn’t out and about. It didn’t last long but it gave a good soaking to everything.

Most of my day has been spent reading and listening to audio files on my computer. For the most part it has been an “inside” day for me. The sun was out around 3 pm and as I looked out my window I knew I had to get outside. I decided to walk to the market and pick up my favorite beer. Along the way I stopped at the Panaderia for fresh-baked dinner rolls.

There are Panaderias (bakeries) here on almost every block. Every day the owners bake hundreds of different kinds of bread rolls. Some are filled with cheese, some are plain, some are sweet. It is almost impossible to walk by and not go in when the smell of fresh baked bread wafts on the sidewalk out front.

I went in to buy some cheese rolls for the spaghetti we are having for dinner tonight, and ended up buying an assortment of sweet cream, empanada, and plain rolls too. They cost anywhere from 12 to 20 cents each. So for a couple of bucks I have more rolls than I know what to do with. But man they smell good!

When I was at the market wine was on sale so I picked up a couple of bottles of that too. I had 3 six packs of beer, 2 bottles of wine, and my large sack of dinner rolls when I left the market. Since my purchases were just a plethora of carbs I decided I needed more exercise so I walked home instead of taking a taxi.

In each hand I carried a double-sacked plastic grocery bag that got heavy pretty fast. It was my workout for the day. When the muscles in my forearm would fatigue I discovered just by turning my wrists with palms forward or palms backward I could adjust the strain on the different muscle groups. It was fun. A couple of times I even lifted the sacks like a dumbbell, but I was nervous the plastic was going to split.

I made it home with bottles and rolls in tact. After such a difficult workout I of course had to reward myself with one of the bottles of beer. 😉

Tonight is Michelle’s last night with us in Cuenca. She is headed to Quito, then to the coast to live for a few months. We will meet up with Michelle again over the holidays on the coast. She has been a fun guest to have here, and in honor of her last night, it’s card night. Game on!

(Check out more of my blogs about Ecuador)

Chau.